The Reframe

In psychology and business circles, reframing is a term that suggests that you shift a negative into a positive. When you want to frame a painting that you made or purchased, your goal is to highlight the color or texture or feeling in the art.

But reframing a work of words refers to the piece’s identity.

Writing my memoir, I thought of the book as a trauma memoir. But after several drafts, reviews and readings by trusted others, it dawned on me that though the action of the story involved a traumatic childhood event, the storyline involved a spiritual journey. You read more about this in detail at Brevity.

I couldn’t possibly have known this when I began. It evolved from the writing, allowing the real essence of my story to come through. And it reframed my story’s arc.

Discovering it involved stepping back just as you might do in an art museum when you scrutinize a painting or run a problem by a dear friend or a business proposal by colleagues.

It’s distance that helps you find the new frame which allows the work to become what it was meant to be.

Photo by Philippe Tinembart

Bold Journey Magazine highlights stories of people doing purposeful work so when the editors asked me to contribute mine, it was a wholehearted yes. Had to share.

Upcoming

“Literary Letters: Essays in Epistle.” Story Studio Chicago. Single session. In person. 6:30- 8:30 pm, March 20, 2024

“The Jewish Spirit of Hope” Ritualwell. Wednesdays at 11 am (CT) online. March 13, 20, 27, April 3, 10, 17, 2024.

“What a Moment Can Hold: Writing Short Truths” Story Studio Chicago, Single session. In person. 6:30 - 8:30 pm. May 21, 2024